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KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | MONDAY, JAN. 16, 2017
From Kenya to KS, Sharon Lokedi keeps running
Missy Minear/KANSAN
Sophomore Sharon Lokedi was named Big 12 Women's Runner of the Year
CHRISTIAN S. HARDY
@ByHardy
Her uncle always told her she could be one of the best runners in the world if she kept working, kept running. But at 14 years old, Sharon Lokedi grabbed what she needed - a blanket, a jacket and the clothes she was wearing - and ran for her life.
After the Kenyan presidential election results were released late in the night on Dec. 27, 2007, Lokedi and her family fled to the forest and hid.
Burnt Forest - Lokedi's home village with a population of about 5,000 became the nucleus of post-presidential election violence, oft-called the "Kenyan crisis," primarily because its population consists of conflicting tribes. When the results were announced, most of Lokedi's family ran from Burnt Forest, except for the men, who stayed back to protect their tribe and their homes.
She escaped to the outskirts of Burn Forest, where there was no shelter, no steady source of food and no possessions. She didn't move unless she was sure it was safe. There was no semblance of real life at all.
Lokedi said. "There is nothing."
"You don't do anything,"
For the next month, Lokedi and her family lived in silence and fear. If they were found by the Kikuyu — the rival tribe of the Kalenjin, which Lokedi and her family belonged to - they'd probably be killed.
You don't do anything, there is nothing."
Sharon Lokedi Sophomore
"You leave everything," Lokedi said of the Kenyan crisis. "When you start running, you can't bring anything."
The month of hiding came eight years before starting her life over again, 8,306 miles from her childhood home, in Kansas, where she
is no longer running out of necessity. A year after coming to Kansas, Lokedi would become a Big 12 cross country champion and, in her sophomore season, already one of the best runners Kansas had ever seen. Just like her uncle believed could happen.
After the conflict ended, Lokedi returned home safely with her family. Like so many others in Kenya did every day, she started running three to four kilometers to school again (Kikuyu students would join two semesters later, still worried about the conflict). That was the first way she trained herself
run to school, run home run when she needed to go somewhere in town, rinse repeat.
It was the last years of primary school, in seventh and eighth grade, when she learned just how good she could be. She consistently found herself near the top of leaderboards, starting in district races and advancing to national races. That was where she began to get interest from high schools known for running, including Kappenda Girls High School, a school about 40 kilometers from home - 80 kilometers by matatu, or privately owned bus - where she enrolled.
In Kenya, almost every student aspires to become an athlete, and for good reason.
SEE LOKEDI PAGE 15
Dzwierzynski: Matt Ryan is the obvious choice for NFL MVP
Associated Press Photo
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) works against the New Orleans Saints during the first half of an NFL football game, in Atlanta.
▶ BRENDAN DZWIERZYNSKI
@BrendanDzw
Consistency, team success and being a quarterback are the three main factors that go into choosing the NFL MVP. Fair or not, you can't win the award as a nonquarterback unless you're breaking records a la Minnesota's Adrian Peterson in 2012, nor if your team isn't in the playoffs. This is why the top three candidates for MVP this season are New England's Tom Brady, Atlanta's Matt Ryan and Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers.
With this in mind, the correct choice is Ryan, and it's not a particularly difficult decision.
All three players check two of the required boxes: they're all quarterbacks, and they all play on Super Bowl-contending teams. That leaves just one trait left to be the deciding factor, and Ryan's consistency trumps the later-season dominance of Brady and Rodgers.
While Ryan, Brady and Rodgers may have comparable counting stats, it's Ryan's elite contributions from the season's opening kickoff to its final whistle which set him apart. Ryan's passer rating dipped below 100 in just four
Ryan's consistency trumps the later-season dominance of Brady and Rodgers."
of 16 games this year. Brady had four such outings as well, but in just 12 total games, while Rodgers had seven sub-100 rated games, four of which came through Week 6.
Passer rating is not a catchall statistic, but it's usually a strong indicator of quarterback success. In this case, it shows Ryan performed better over the course of the season than either Brady or Rodgers. This is not to say that Brady or Rodgers were bad by any means, as all three finished the season with passer ratings above 100. However, when consistency is your deciding factor, you have to roll with the player that put up the steadier numbers.
It's also important to recognize that having more consistent statistics doesn't directly correlate to having the best sheer numbers. Ryan had the best rating and the most yards of the group, but Rodgers led the NFL in passing touchdowns and Brady
had the fewest interceptions thrown of the trio.
When you get right down to it, Ryan benefits greatly from playing well in all 16 games this season. Brady's suspension to open the season and Rodgers' early-year slump are the disqualifying factors for their respective MVP campaigns.
It's agonizing that "Deflategate" still hangs on to any shred of relevance, but Brady's suspension to start the season will prevent him from winning the MVP. You can't win the top individual award in the game if you only play 75 percent of the season. It also doesn't help Brady's case that the Patriots wone three of their four games he missed, led by a still-unproven backup and an under-the-radar rookie.
Rodgers was not his normal self throughout the first half of the season. His early struggles drew criticism from every corner of the sports world, with one prominent, long-winded talking head going as far as to say Rodgers is nothing more than "Jay Cutler with a ring." Of course, Rodgers proved these critics wrong by massacring the Packers' competition to close the season. But his mediocre play to open 2016 will cost him a potential third MVP award.
Truthfully, you can't go wrong with any of the three. You're choosing between arguably the greatest quarterback ever, arguably the most talented quarterback ever and an elite talent who is perennially underrated. Brady and Rodgers may be more historically significant, but Ryan owned 2016 from beginning to end, making him the easy choice for NFL MVP.
Andrew Rosenthal/KANSAN Redshirt junior guard Jessica Washington and redshirt sophomore Mckenzie Calvert defend Baylor junior guard Kristy Wallace. The Jayhawks lost to the Baylor Bears 92-43.
Andrew Rosenthal/KANSAN in Colbert defend Ruler junior
The clock couldn't tick fast enough for Kansas on Sunday afternoon in their 92-43 loss to No. 2 Baylor. Even with their starters resting on the bench, the Lady Bears continued to score faster than coach Brandon Schneider's emotionally defeated team.
On the bench, junior guard Jessica Washington and sophomore guard McKenzie Calvert hid their faces in their hands. The entire bench was clearly demoralized, and the final score represented their frustrations.
"There's a lot of people that believe that this is the best Baylor team that coach (Kim) Mulkey and her staff have assembled, and that's saying a lot," Schneider said. "I think they are obviously a Final Four favorite-caliber team."
▶ SEAN COLLINS
@seanzie_UDK
KU falls at home to Baylor
Knowing Baylor's size and length would pose problems for a smaller Jayhawks team, Schneider went into Sunday with a goal: hold the Lady Bears to 40 or less
While the Jayhawks were only six points shy of that goal, the Bears out-rebounded the Jayhawks 53-31. This came down to Schneider's team being out-hustled on both sides of the ball.
"I think it just comes down to a little bit of heart, or a lot of heart," senior forward Sydney Umeri said. "Just some grit. You have to be able to put in the work with them because they are deep and they'll bring more people in. That's what I think we were lacking."
The game was out of reach by the end of the first half, but the Lady Bears never took their feet off the gas. In the fourth quarter, despite resting their starters, Baylor continued to increase its lead. For the game, the Jayhawks shot 20.9 percent, while Baylor shot 56.4 percent.
points in the paint.
The 49-point deficit is the largest for the Jayhawks this season, and while there is a lot to learn from a game like this, there is one gleaming problem: the effort.
"I think that we as a team we can take something from them," Umeri said. "If they can bring that effort every single play we should be able to do that too."
The "keep scoring" mindset that the Lady Bears played with isn't new. Continuing to put on pressure late in the game with a double-digit lead isn't about pouring salt in the wound, it's about consistency. Consistency is a part of the game Mulkey has all but perfected.
"That's what we teach. 'Don't look at the clock. Don't look at the score.' We've got enough depth that we challenge each of them to go out there and keep taking players in that's the luxury that I have with this basketball team," Mulkey said. "We are pretty loaded at all positions and have lots of depth."
The Jayhawks are now focused on moving on to their next game against the Mountaineers. After a demolition like Sunday's matchup, they don't have much of a choice.